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Blue Origin, a Washington-based aerospace company, has developed a process to manufacture solar panels from moon rocks.
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The process, called Blue Alchemist, uses high temperatures and electrolysis to separate oxygen from iron, silicon, and aluminum.
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The company claims that the process can be scaled to support lunar operations.
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The process was tested using 'regolith simulants', which are chemically similar to moon rocks.
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The process produces not only silicon for solar panels, but also fuel for rockets and inputs for life support systems.
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Being able to produce oxygen on the moon is critical for sustained human operations and rocket launches.
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NASA is also working on a pilot project to transport oxygen from the source to a storage plant on the lunar surface.
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The Blue Alchemist process is environmentally friendly, producing pure silicon and glass for solar panel coating without harmful chemicals.
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Developing a lunar base is a part of NASA's Artemis program.
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Blue Origin has submitted a proposal for a lunar lander and claims that the lunar solar panel manufacturing process has potential for Earth applications.